Vanille's Hope
by Silvie of Southern
Summary: Two years after their victory with the fal'Cie, Hope still wonders what could have been. He misses her, and he would do anything to see her again. But there's nothing that can be done, because she's gone forever. Or is she? major game spoiler content
1. Chapter 1

**Vanille's Hope**

**Chapter 1**

_It was two years ago, when it happened. I was fourteen years old when the fal'Cie changed my life forever... Everyone's life. _

_I was just a kid then... I thought it was Snow's fault for what happened when my mother died. But really, it was the fal'Cie. They're the ones who started everything._

_Well, they're gone now. All of them. We survive on our own, without their help. Now it's just us humans on Gran Pulse with a few hundred thousand monsters to worry about._

_Not like they're even a challenge anymore. Between me, Light, and Maqui, we can pretty much take on anything Gran Pulse can dish out._

_Life's been boring since we rid it of the cursed fal'Cie and their Cieth. Any of them that we didn't get to first turned to stone._

_But something's been missing... and I couldn't find out what it was before. But I've finally begun to realize it. I've felt this way ever since we woke from our crystal stasis on Pulse, two weeks after we defeated Orphan._

_I tried to deny it. For two years, I succeeded... Everyone misses them still. But it was always different for me, and I'm finally admitting it to myself._

_I love her. And I'd do anything to get her back..._

_Vanille._


	2. Chapter 2

_A/n: Well guys, I'm back! The crazy Final Fantasy freak who...never got around to finishing her other story.. I apologize, I will get to that! x.x A.D.D. has many disadvantages!_

_If ya'll didn't know, this story's about Hope and Vanille, and of course the rest of the gang too. :P wouldn't leave them out! This has some MAJOR PLOT SPOILERS FROM THE GAME FFXIII! so if you havent beat it, DONT READ IT. no ones forcing you so dont get mad at me ok! :o_

_Anyway, I hope you like it. :) Enjoy._

**Chapter 2**

Hope Estheim sighed heavily, staring grimly down at the Archylte Steppe. It was a beautiful view, but he could hardly see the beauty in anything anymore.

She was gone.

It had taken a full two years for the realization to settle in, and now it hit him full in the face. She was gone. He would never hear her laugh, feel her arms around him, or see her pretty face again. There was one old picture of her and Fang that he'd discovered in one of the buildings in Oerba before the Sanctum reduced it to a pile of ashes.

Oerba was now a thriving city, full of people who'd survived Cocoon's fall and stragglers who had survived that long on Pulse without being made Cieth or lunch meat for some hungry monster.

A tear clouded his vision for a moment, then slid silently down his cheek and dropped from his jawline, creating a darkened dot on his pant leg. He hadn't even noticed he was crying until another tear landed on his arm. Startled, he sat up straight and wiped his eyes. It wouldn't do to have Light see this... And Maqui would never let him live it down.

Hope and Maqui had become fast friends during the first few weeks after the relocation to Gran Pulse. Maqui had taught Hope how to fix nearly anything electronic, and in return, Hope had given Maqui a sword and some combat lessons. They often adventured out to the Steppe to practice fighting, should the need ever arise for a real fight.

Lightning, overprotective as she was, always insisted on coming along. But neither of the boys really minded; she wasn't like most adults.

Hope slowly got to his feet and looked back at Light, who was sparring with Maqui and teaching him some moves.

"The razorclaws will try and shake you with their breath. If you roll to the side and hold your breath when they do, you can escape it. It's considered an attack because it can poison you and kill you." Light explained.

"Yea, talk about bad breath! That stuff can really knock you out!" Maqui joked.

"This is serious, Maqui."

"Yea, yea..."

"They tend to attack with their claws in a way that will catch you off guard. Don't let your guard down."

"Haha c'mon Light. It's not like I never fought one before!"

Hope smiled, in spite of himself. "Yea, Light, _light_en up."

She shot him a glare. Maqui laughed. "That's a good one, Hope!"

"Sure..." His smile faded again and he turned back to overlook the view of the Steppe.

_There must be something... Anything I can do. I can't walk alone the rest of my life. But I can't be with anyone but her... why did she have to go? why couldn't it be like with Serah and Dahj and the rest of us? Why did she have to leave like that... Eternal life, sure... but... thats one eternal life away from me. And I can't live without her... How could only a few days have made so much difference? I don't even remember how many days she was here... it was so long ago... but how can I forget her face? How can I forget everything we went through together? I can't. There has to be something... anything..._

"Hope, you okay?" Light asked.

"Yea..."

"You sure?" She had stopped sparring with Maqui and was watching him closely.

"I'm fine, Light." He turned and offered a smile. But he knew that wouldn't satisfy her. She was like the big sister he never had. She treated him the way she treated Serah; with tender loving care, stern scolding where it was needed, protection, but also comfort and friendliness.

Lightning let it drop and returned to sparring with Maqui, mostly to keep him out of trouble. She knew already that Hope was far more responsible than he had once been. He wouldn't be wandering too far or getting into trouble anytime soon.

Hope stared at the ground and took a few steps along the trail.

_Why do I even miss her? I hardly knew her at all... She hardly knew me. I doubt she even thinks of me, where ever she is... Why can't I just move on like the rest of them? Nothing even happened... How can I love her? It's not like she would love me back, even if she were here... _

_But she's not. She's gone. So why can't I just stop dwelling on the past and move on? Hope... pitiful name... I don't have hope. I don't even deserve the name 'hope'. If anything, I'm hopeless... wandering around, lost in these silly fantasies where she wakes up... daydreaming. stupid. I never see anyone else-_

A loud thud snapped his thoughts back to what he was doing. Suddenly he realized he'd wandered farther away from his friends than he wanted to. A dark shadow covered him. But the sun was shining bright...

Another thud shook the ground, nearly knocking him off his feet. He turned around and froze. Lumbering like a tower above him only a few feet away was a Long Gui, the most feared creature that still lived on Gran Pulse.

There was no way he could defeat it alone.

He took a deep breath and screamed.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

_I saw the thing, staring down at me. I felt myself screaming... but I couldn't hear anything. So I screamed again, louder. It came at me... I couldn't move. My legs were like heavy metal, and I couldn't make them do what I wanted._

_I wanted to run. I wanted to flee from that thing and get back to Light as fast as I could. I knew she'd scold me for being careless, but it was better than becoming a squashed ex-l'Cie here in a lost corner of the Archylte Steppe..._

_I saw it's leg move. My neck hurt from looking so far up... I screamed again. I screamed for help. The ground shook and I lost my balance. I fell on the ground. I can't explain how it makes the ground move like that... It was like an earth quake. The ground shook so bad that I actually launched into the air. I was already screaming, because I knew when I hit the ground, it was gonna hurt like hell..._

_For a second, I was flying..._

_And then there was pain._

_And then, I blacked out.._

_

* * *

_

"Left, Maqui. I said I would strike from the left." Lighting said, slightly irritated. Hope had been gone for several minutes, and although she knew he was smart and sensible, there was no telling the bad feeling in her gut to go away because of logic.

"I thought you meant _your_ left." Maqui defended. "Usually when people say left they're talking about left from _their_ point of view."

She sighed, ignoring him. "Did you see which way Hope went?"

"No... he's always wandering off."

"He's always coming back after less than five minutes."

"Maybe he found some chocobo to play with or something..." Maqui suggested.

A faint sound echoed in the distance. Almost like a yell.

"What was that?" Maqui asked.

"Sh!" Lightning snapped, holding out her hand as if to hold back the noise Maqui might make.

She heard it again, more clearly.

"Hope!" She knew his voice. And he would never scream unless he was in trouble. She ran at a full sprint down the path he'd most likely taken.

"Lightning, wait up!" Maqui cried.

"Hope!" She cried again.

"Heeellllpppp!" His voice cried from somewhere not too far. A loud thud followed.

That could only mean one thing: He'd foolishly stumbled into the path of a tortoise. Her heart nearly stopped as she heard his blood-curdling scream... a scream of pain.

She pushed herself faster, knowing she had to make it. Nothing could ever happen to him, or she would never forgive herself.

As she rounded a bend in the small ravine, she caught sight of something that sent daggers of fear to her heart. Hope was lying still on the ground, and towering above him, ready to crush him, was the giant foot of a Long Gui.

Lightning didn't waste a second. She yanked her gun blade from its sheath and rushed at the tortoise, yelling loudly to distract it from Hope's prone form. There was still a chance he was alive...

She sliced the skin on the Long Gui's leg six times before she was forced to dodge out of the way and recover her breath. "Maqui!" She cried.

"Lighting, look out!"

She leaped out of the way of the giant's foot and countered with another slice. "Grab Hope! Get him out of here!" A powerful tremor shook the ground, and Lightning stumbled. She regained her balance quickly and took another slice at a leg.

She was slowly but surely leading the tortoise away from Hope and Maqui. She backed out of its attack range and watched Maqui hurriedly drag Hope into the ravine.

_How am I going to handle this rabble..?_ She thought.

A better idea came to her.

Fleeing.

She backed up a little farther to make sure the Long Gui was still following her, and then started to run the other way. She glanced over her shoulder and slowed down several times, just to make sure Maqui and Hope could get away.

Then she made a long circle around back into the ravine.

"Maqui!" She cried. No reply. _Where are they?_ She jogged back up the trail, slightly winded. "Maqui! Hope! Where are you!" She called, beginning to get worried.

"Lightning!" Maqui's voice echoed.

She sighed in relief and ran back up the trail, where his voice seemed to be coming.

Maqui was huddled over Hope, tears in his eyes and a worried look on his face. "Is he gonna be okay?"

Lightning knelt by Hope's limp form and pressed two fingers to the vein on his neck. His pulse was weak. "He's alive, for now. We need to get back to Oerba."

Maqui let out a quiet sob.

"None of that now! He won't die. You need to stay strong. Let's go." Lightning lifted the boy's form into her arms with a grunt of effort. He weighed an extra half of what he used to. "Hurry up. Keep an eye out for enemies." She said.

Maqui wiped his face on his sleeve and led the way along the trail toward the nearest Cieth Waystone.

_Please, Hope... _Lightning thought, but it was more a desperate prayer. _Please be okay..._


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

_(Vanille's POV)_**  
**

_It was so peaceful...I was back home in Oerba with Fang. The flowers were all back, and the people were all there again. But I didn't recognize any of them... And the look of the town had changed... It almost looked more like Cocoon's Eden.  
_

_I was frightened. What had become of my home?_

_And then I saw you. You were lying there so peaceful, for a moment I thought you might be dead... But I could hear you breathing._

_I saw Lightning, too. She was so worried... _

_That blonde boy was there. I remember seeing him the day we met. He was one of Snow's friends from NORA._

_It had to have been some sort of dream, because when I looked down at my feet, I couldn't see anything. I couldn't see myself..._

_I tried to hold up my hands, just to make sure, but I couldn't move them. I remembered Fang was there. I hadn't really seen her... I just somehow knew she was with me. But when I looked around, she was gone._

_I looked back at you._

_"Hope..." I said your name, thinking perhaps you would hear me and say something. But you didn't even move._

_I think I was crying...and then it all went away, like a dream, and there was only white...

* * *

_

_(Hope's POV)_

_I could hear voices... they sounded worried, but I couldn't tell what they were saying. I knew who they were, but I couldn't seem to make out any words... It was Light, Maqui, Serah, and Snow._

_I couldn't move, and I couldn't talk. My arm hurt real bad... I knew I had been in trouble with that giant tortoise thing, but I didn't think I had died... I tried to shout something, but my voice wouldn't work either. It was more of a groan than a yell, and barely even a noise._

_I heard her all the sudden. Like she was one of the people who were next to me._

_"Hope..." She said my name._

_I tried to move, to do anything. In my mind I was screaming. I had to make sure she was really there. My scream was only a grunt of some sorts, and my leaping up to see her was only a slight move of my fingers._

_I was desperate. I couldn't let her go. I had to wake up before she left again..._

_

* * *

_Lightning stared worriedly down at Hope's limp form. Serah had been trying to find a potion somewhere that would help him, but he would have to be awake to drink it. His wrist was slowly but surely turning a dark shade of purple over the last hour.

"I found one!" Serah cried as she ran into the house. She handed the little bottle to Lightning and kneeled down beside Hope. "His wrist..."

"I know. It looks like he might've broken it." Lightning replied.

"Hope's gonna be okay now, right?" Maqui asked, standing in the doorway.

"I promise you, I will do anything in my power to keep him alive." Lightning replied.

"Why wasn't I there with you guys?" Snow asked. He had been sitting quietly in a chair, worrying, ever since Lightning had come in winded as ever, carrying the unconscious Hope in her arms.

"Because normally this wouldn't happen. Something's up with him." Lighting replied.

"Vanille..."

All four heads in the room turned to Hope as he muttered that one word. He groaned, winced, and shifted a bit. He let out a weak grunt, followed by a gasp. His eyes snapped open and he sat straight up, only to fall back with a cry of pain.

"Hope!" Serah cried.

Lightning opened the potion. "Hope, its okay. Drink this." She cradled his head in one arm, lifting him a few inches off the bed. She touched the bottle to his lips and slowly tilted it so that the smooth green liquid poured steadily into his mouth.

He gulped it down, choking in the middle and sitting up to cough. Lightning gently tapped his back. He sat with a stunned look on his face, breathing heavily for a few moments. The purple skin on his wrist turned back to normal from the healing effects of the potion.

"Are you okay?" Serah asked.

He nodded.

"Why did you wander off so far?" Lightning demanded.

"I'm sorry...I didn't mean to... I wasn't paying attention."

"Then what were you paying attention to? Obviously not the giant tortoise that managed to sneak up behind you."

"I'm sorry..."

"I thought you were more responsible than that."

"I'm sorry, okay!" He cried, standing up. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean to! It was an accident!"

"Accidents like that are what get people killed."

Without another word, Hope turned and ran out of the room.

"Hope!"

"Lightning!" Serah cried. "That was uncalled for."

Lightning sighed, realizing how harsh her words must have sounded.

"Yea, Light. _Light_en up." Maqui said. His comment only served to gain him three glares.

She sighed. "I should apologize..."

"Just let him be alone for a bit." Serah advised. "He was really upset, you know. I'm sure he knew already what you were telling him."

Lightning looked down. "I shouldn't have been that harsh..."

"He'll be okay. He's a tough kid." Snow said.

"He only looks tough. He doesn't want people to think he's not as strong as he should be." Lightning replied. "I at least want to make sure he doesn't wander off again and get hurt.." She got up and left the room, following after Hope.

"She really needs to stop being so protective over him..." Snow said.

"It's alright, Snow. She was the same way with me for years. She still is, kind of. But she knows I have you to protect me now." Serah smiled at her husband.

"Of course. I'd never let anything happen to you...ever." He said, standing and walking over to her. He planted a soft kiss on her lips.

"Aw, c'mon! You have to do that while I'm here?" Maqui rolled his eyes and walked out of the room.

Hope ran down the sidewalk, fleeing Lightning's anger. He had known full well she would be pissed at him for getting into such a foolish predicament, but he hadn't expected to hear Vanille call his name... and that was what left him completely off guard. His emotions had taken over and left him vulnerable to her remarks.

He realized he would end up getting teased by Maqui later, but for now, he didn't care.

He was running straight toward the crystal stalk that held up Cocoon. It was the one place he could go to be alone.

And _she_ was there. He had to see her again...


	5. Chapter 5

_A/n: I apologize for this taking so long... I had typed out about six more chapters and saved them to my laptop, however the very day I was ready to post this one, my laptop decided to do its wondrous glitch, and the only way I can actually turn it on is to reset factory settings which...deleted all of my data. x-( hence the two day depression in which I did nothing at all, and it was only today that I tried to remember how the plot was going and pulled this out... Enjoy. :)_

**Chapter 5**

_I still remember the first time I climbed that crystal stalk. I was fifteen. I knew she was there... I had never been up to the top. Since Cocoon's fall, no one has been back to Cocoon and lived to tell the story. But we've all heard the stories, and the cries of the Cieth that they say dwell there..._

_The only Cie'th left on Pulse are the ones that fall from Cocoon. Or so they say. I haven't seen any in a year and a half._

_That one day I finally made it to the top, after trying so many times and failing, was the best day of my life since Cocoon's Fall... The only time I was happier was when I was really with her, and she would tease me about things and talk to me. I was always happier with her..._

_I thought there would be more, when I got there... it had to be at least a hundred feet off the ground. I was scared of falling, and how I would get down. My one fear was that if I died, I would never see her again._

_I sat terrified for a minute._

_I couldn't hardly move. I just sat there, thinking how many possible ways I could mess up and die there. And then I remembered. She was behind me. When I think about her, I forget fear. I stood up, turned around, and examined the large crystal sphere. It looked hollow, but it was huge, and I didn't see a way to enter. So I walked around looking for one. _

_There was one spot with a hole. The hole was barely big enough for one of my fingers, but it was enough to spur me on. I looked for anything that could be used for cutting a hole in crystal and found something perfect: a crystal shard the size of my foot with a sharp point at the end. I picked it up and started jabbing at the spot, slowly but steadily making the hole bigger.  
_

_It was all I could do. I stayed until long after dark, just standing there, working that tiny finger-sized flaw into a good-sized hole I could fit my arm and shoulder through. It was hollow on the inside, strangely warm, and my arm felt so much lighter somehow._

_I passed out up on the ledge late into the night, exhausted. _

_I woke up to a lonely wailing, some early hour before the sun had even risen. The sky was slowly getting lighter. I had heard someone wailing, like they were crying.  
_

_But it had more to it. It was inhuman, the way it cried. I sat frozen, just listening to it. _

_It took me long enough to realize it was a Cie'th. It had been a while since I had heard one, but once the idea occurred to me, I realized there was no other explanation._

_It was coming from above me._

_The only thing farther above me was Cocoon._

_I remember staying for the sunrise. It was one of the most beautiful things I'd ever seen. The only thing more beautiful than watching a Gran Pulse sunrise from the bottom of Cocoon would be watching it with her._

_I managed to backtrack down without falling to my death._

_When I made it back to Oerba, Light flipped a tortoise and questioned me and lectured me for over an hour. I told her I went out exploring and stayed the night in Sulyya because I didn't want to walk all the way back through Taejin's Tower. She scolded me for another twenty minutes about the dangers of being out alone and bad guys sneaking up on me and blah blah blah... _

_I know she means well, but lecturing me has never helped anything._

_That...that was the first time I began to hope...I began to realize that maybe, just maybe, there could be a way to save her..._

_

* * *

_Hope ran as fast as his legs would carry him toward his one haven...the one place he knew he would be safe from the world.

Even though he risked his life each time he climbed up the tall crystal stalk, he felt safer there than anywhere else. He knew that no one could find him there and hold him down for lectures or scolding. He could finally be alone to think.

It took him the usual fifteen minutes of climbing to reach the top. The first time had taken nearly an hour. Now he knew exactly, place by place, where to put his feet and hands to scale the wall. Each time, he got faster and better. It was almost second nature, climbing to that ledge. He could all but do it in his sleep.

He reached the top, slightly winded from the trek. The emotions he'd been holding in began to break loose. He grabbed the sharp crystal shard and began furiously jabbing at the edge of the now football sized hole. Tears formed in his eyes and he sobbed slightly as he continued to jab at the hole. He missed once and the thin crystal edge thinly sliced through his glove into the skin on his hand. He instinctively let go of the tool and jerked his hand back, immediately regretting doing so as he realized the tool was now lost inside the hole.

He grasped the now bleeding cut on his hand, the pain slowly increasing. He collapsed to his knees, the tears coming freely now. Despair spread through his body and his mind and chest. He began to sob loudly, lifting his head toward the shelter of Cocoon above him. He cried her name, but through the sobs it was muffled. "V-vanee-hill..." He curled up, still holding tight to his hand, and closed his eyes tight in a failed attempt to stifle his tears. It wasn't long before the boy had cried himself to sleep on the ledge.

* * *

Against her better judgment and the advice of Snow and Serah, Lightning silently followed after Hope like a cat stalking its prey. Her training as a soldier had never let her down in times of need; this was one of those times. She followed him only close enough to keep him in sight. Hope may not have been the brightest candle in the window, but he was certainly not stupid nor ignorant.

Underestimating him could lead to a mistake and blow her cover. The feeling in her gut told her that this was where he had gone all those times when he had disappeared after a fight or an argument or a rough day. She had searched before, but never found him.

This time... this time she would know for sure.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

Lightning watched Hope head for the crystal stalk below Cocoon and hid carefully behind some bushes. She unzipped the pack on her left thigh and removed a pair of night goggles that served well as binoculars. She set them in focus and watched him carefully as he climbed.

He reached the top spread of crystals after several minutes and seemed to disappear over the edge, in his own private haven. She climbed onto a rock and sat down, watching the sun slowly slip over the horizon and darken the sky. She kept her eyes on the spot where Hope had disappeared, half-expecting him to re-appear at any moment.

She sighed heavily as the cool night air settled over Pulse. The vast sky turned a deep shade of blue, and billions of stars began to show themselves.

She stared up at the cracked shell of Cocoon, into the black that had once been a thriving span of cities. Out of curiosity, she raised her binoculars to her eyes and zoomed in.

To her shock, two solid yellow orbs stared back at her, standing out from the black with an eerie glow. She frowned, switching on the night vision and setting the zoom to full.

The face of a hideous creature stared back, with the look of one of the cat-like monsters she had fought several times in the war two years before. It was black skinned with sharp yellow teeth and three large claws to decorate its over-sized paws. Lightning shuddered, closing her eyes for a moment to shut out the frightening image. When she looked back, it was gone.

It's previous position, she realized, was directly overlooking Hope's private haven. She gasped lightly to herself, suddenly concerned. She hesitated for a moment, trying to decide whether to go for help or deal with it herself.

An eerie cry echoed through the night. She froze. It had sounded almost identical to a Cie'th.

_It can't be...there hasn't been a Cie'th sighting in over a year._ She thought.

She heard it again, more clear this time. Leaving Hope alone at this moment was out of the question. She took a breath to think, and then raced off toward the stalk of Cocoon. She remembered seeing Hope climb it so easily... It was a bit more difficult to find the holds in the dark, but Lightning was skilled at climbing difficult ledges of all sorts.

It took her a good twenty minutes of climbing to reach the area above the crystal spikes where Hope was. He was curled up, asleep, beside a sizable hole in the crystal.

_So this is what he's been doing all this time..._ She thought. The hole in Cocoon's shell was only a few yards above them. Lightning backed up and measured the distance. Then she propelled herself toward the hole, using the bottom corner as a ledge for her foot, and pushed off, snapping on the AMP device on her thumb just as the foothold gave way. She glided through the air toward the bottom of Cocoon, realizing and forgetting that she had just damages Hope's project in the same moment. She grabbed the edge of Cocoon's hull and used it to swing herself around and into the air, switching off her anti-gravity helper at just the right moment to send her at a perfect, smooth glide to the ground only a few feet below.

She landed with a soft thud, and for the first time in over two years, she laid eyes on the vast expanse of Cocoon.

She was standing at the edge of a crystallized surface, which would previously have put her at the bottom of Lake Bresha, below the Hanging Edge.

Once full of life, and light, and color, Cocoon was now dark, dreary and deserted.

Everything in sight was covered in a thin layer of blue crystal. Lightning took a deep breath, pausing her mission to take in the landscape of her old home. Of the crystal lake, it looked the same as the last time she had seen it.

Looking now at the vast expanse of Cocoon, she realized how small it actually was compared to Pulse. Most of her life, she had never dreamed of anything as large and spacious as Cocoon could exist. But now that she had been living for two years in the grand world below, Cocoon's entire size was but a fraction of the world.

She walked slowly and cautiously forward, determined to figure out what had been going on in the two years Cocoon had been left deserted. There was not a sound except for the soft pad of her footsteps and the slight breeze flowing in from the giant hole in Cocoon's shell. The hole had long been decaying, growing larger and larger every few days as it slowly rotted away and crumbled.

Now almost exactly half of it was gone. The hole stretched from the top of the crystal stalk to the center point on the very top of Cocoon.

Lighting ventured deeper into the deserted world, letting her guard down a bit realizing the only sound or sign of life was her. She closed her gunblade and slid it into its cover. The crystallized lake provided an eerie glow for her to see by.

She rounded a corner and froze, hearing a slight scraping noise. There was a soft thump, and then a scrape, as if something was dragging on the ground. It took her a moment to remember where she had heard the noise before.

It slowly grew louder, as if its maker were drawing near.

Lightning backed slowly away, the way she had come before. The thump grew louder, with the sound of objects crumbling as if it was crushing something.

She drew her gunblade and stood on guard, looking about and trying to determine which direction it was coming from.

The thumps grew faster now, each one driving a tremor that shook the ground and ventured to the beating of her heart.

The ground shook violently three more times, and then it was quiet. Not a sound.

A tingle went through her spine, as if someone were watching her. Her heart beat faster.

Suddenly she knew, without a doubt, that it was behind her. As slow as she dared, Lightning turned her head to peer behind her. What she saw confirmed her fears.

The Cie'th's roar sent shivers down her spine as it echoed about the abyss.

A thousand thoughts ran through her mind as she watched the lumbering arm of the Cie'th circle through the air toward her face. A thousand memories, a thousand words, a thousand people she might never see again.

But only one name stuck. It was the last one she thought of before losing consciousness to the forceful blow.

_Hope..._

* * *

A/N: Sorry it took me so long.. I've been replaying the game to answer some vital questions...a type of research, you could say...

Also, a few good friends and I decided to make a website. I'll post a link on my profile. Any advertising and such is greatly appreciated! :)

I hereby promise to not let this story die! I will finish it! No matter what!


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

Hope awoke quite suddenly, to what he thought was a loud crack.

He looked around, making sure he was still alone on his ledge. He looked at the hole in the crystal wall and frowned. It seemed bigger from when he had gone to sleep. There was a jagged piece missing from the bottom, as if it had just randomly broken off.

_Maybe that's what that sound was..._ He thought.

He stood up and examined the cracks, trying to analyze what could have happened. A faint thud reached his ears, followed by the sound of something dragging. He stood up, heart pounding, and scanned the horizon of Pulse. Nothing stirred.

It came again, slightly louder. Thump...scratch.

The third time, Hope realized it was coming from above him.

From Cocoon.

He walked to the far edge of the crystals and looked up. The edge of Cocoon's broken shell was just a little too far out of reach to jump. He would somehow need an extra boost.

But there was nothing there to give him that boost.

The distant thump wasn't quite so distant, but it was still at a distance.

An idea occurred to him. He hadn't had any need to practice his l'Cie magic since the day he woke from crystal stasis... If he could still remember how...

He closed his eyes and focused, summoning the energy for ice, and held out his hand. An icy wind formed in front of him and created a path where he directed it, leading up to Cocoon. Cautiously, aware that ice was slippery and he was several hundred feet off the ground, Hope walked up the path to Cocoon.

He had never, in all the time he had been coming this close, thought of going back. But here he was, at the bottom of the crystallized Lake Bresha.

A thin white blanket of crystal dust covered the already crystal lake.

_Just like the first time I saw Oerba..._ He thought.

The thump-drag pattern had ceased, and he wondered what had become of it.

_Here goes nothing..._ He ventured cautiously into the darkness, cautiously looking about for signs of movement or fiends or worse. His eyes gradually adjusted to the darkness, and he ventured in further, soon becoming less cautious and more curious.

The crystal lake was just as stunning as the last time he had been there, only this time, he was stopping to take in the wonder of it. Most of the crystal had dulled, losing its ethereal glow, but the few pieces that remained pure were like beacons in the deep blackness.

A soft sigh reached Hope's ears. He froze, unable to be sure if it had really been a noise or if he had only imagined it. He heard it again, the barely audible exhale that strained to be called a noise.

He walked cautiously around the corner and gasped. "Lightning?"

The young woman lay in a heap on the ground, arm outstretched, with her drawn gunblade lying a few inches from her open palm. Hope ran to her and knelt by her side. "Light!" He tenderly nudged her shoulder and turned her on her back. A drop of blood was smeared on her left temple. Hope closed his eyes and summoned the healing powers he had once relied on for survival.

A familiar calm and slight warmth surrounded him. It started in his chest and then gently traveled down his arm to his palm, where it took on a dim glow and cured the slight cut on Lightning's forehead.

The step-drag pattern had begun again. It was much closer this time, and the 'step' half of the pattern shook the ground in a not-so-gentle way.

Hope remembered how fiends hated healing magic. They were drawn toward it with a violent nature, and even some fiends who weren't normally hostile would turn vicious in the presence of a healer.

Hope stood and looked both ways on the path the frozen waves had created, readying his boomerang. Lightning had long before taught him how to wield guns and swords, but he stood ever faithful to the weapon that had saved his life on numerous occasions.

He cautiously crept forward, toward the sound. He rounded a curve and stopped short. The Cie'th that was there didn't exactly look friendly. It's size alone was enough to challenge even that of an Oretoise. Hope began to wonder how it had gone unnoticed all this time, or how the tremendous weight of its stomping hadn't caused Cocoon to fall right into the ground.

The monstrous being turned slowly around to face Hope, and let out a thunderous bellow.

Hope froze in fear, unable to move his feet from their planted position on the crystal lake. He forgot to breathe, and even if he had the mind power to inhale, his throat had seized beyond that possibility. A knot formed in his gut and squeezed. For a moment he thought he might throw up.

He blinked several times as his thoughts caught up to his fears and tied them down to the corner of his mind.

"Stay back!" He yelled, holding out his hand and summoning the ancient l'Cie magic he had left idle for too long. Electric bolts of light shot through the air and struck the beast in the chest, stunning it just long enough for the thought he could face it along to sneak along the path to Hope's mind.

Lightning stirred slightly, having been jolted from her darkness by a violent crash. A slight headache slowed her reactions. She winced and opened her eyes, looking up into a deep black void.

Her eyes adjusted, giving her sight into the void. It was no longer a dark empty space, but filled with dim lights of all colors. Blue, pink, orange, white, purple and yellow were the ones she picked out first. It was then, staring into the beautiful fray of colors, that she realized she wasn't looking into the night sky.

The stars from Pulse where all pure white or an almost white blue or yellow. Not pink and green and orange. She furrowed her brow and winced.

A yell came from nearby. It sounded like Hope...

It took approximately a second for Lightning to remember everything that had happened, leading up to the monstrous Cie'th who had bested her.

"...Hope?" She rolled onto her front and lifted herself on shaky arms and legs, straightening herself with only slight effort and picking her gunblade up off the ground.

She heard a loud crack, followed by the sound of flames igniting and bursting into an inferno.

"Hope!"

She heard him yell again and ran around the corner in spite of her throbbing head.

A monstrous Cie'th faced her, ten or so feet beyond Hope.

It took a lumbering step forward and Hope pushed it away with water magic.

"Hope, run!" Lightning cried.

"What?"

"I said run!"

"Light, I can do this-..."

"No. Listen to me! Run!"

In the time it took for Hope to pause and argue with Lightning, the Cie'th had lumbered forward and prepared its arm for a smashing blow.

"I can ta-..."

"Look out!" Lightning leaped from her spot and threw her full weight into Hope with a grunt, throwing them both to the ground as the Cie'th's arm ripped through the empty space where Hope had been a second earlier. Lightning didn't waste a second.

She rolled to her feet and yanked Hope up by his arm. She darted towards Cocoon's broken shell, not letting go of his arm and dragging him behind her.

Hope struggled to keep his feet moving beneath him and not fall. He stumbled once, crying out in fear of being dragged.

Lightning pulled him back to his feet and continued on without missing a stride.

Only when the exit to Cocoon was a mere ten feet away did she slow to a stop, hardly winded.

Hope doubled over, panting. He remembered being in the same position two years ago, exhausted and out of breath while Lighting stood by, not even fazed.

He fought for control over his oxygen deprived lungs and stood up, forcing himself to breathe slower.

"Are you alright?" Lightning asked.

He nodded. "You?"

She ignored the question. "Next time I say run, I don't care what's happening. You run. Understood?"

Hope nodded. "I'm sorry..."

"No...I'm sorry. If I hadn't been so angry...I shouldn't have yelled at you. You had no control over the situation."

He looked down.

Lightning placed her hand on his shoulder. "I'm not angry at you. I was angry at myself... you're like a brother to me. I care about you the way I care about Serah. I...I lost control out of fear. I feel like...you're my responsibility. And if anything happens to you..."

"Light, it's not your problem. I'm my father's responsibility now."

Light turned to face the open span of Gran Pulse below. "I know. But that doesn't change the fact that I'm protective over you. I...I'm sorry...for yelling. It won't happen again."

Hope was silent for a minute. "I...I forgive you."

She turned her head and looked at him over her shoulder. "I'm not going to ask what you were doing here. I'm only going to ask that you-..."

"I'm not going to stop coming here. It's my own haven. I feel like I'm safe here. I can't just not come back!" He cried.

Lightning rested her hands on his shoulders and looked him in the eye. "I'm only going to ask...that you be careful when you come."

Hope was speechless. He stared at Lightning for a few seconds, unable to find a way to express his gratitude. He reached out and hugged her. "I...thank you."


	8. Chapter 8

_A/N: I'm back everyone! ...well, I didn't really leave in the first place, I was just having drama and second thoughts.. but anyway I'm all over that now, so here's your early Christmas present! Merry Christmas everyone! :)_

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* * *

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**Chapter 8**

"There are still things living up there. You have to believe me!" Lightning demanded. "I was there myself. I saw them!"

"Claire, the fact you were there alone and disobeying the law could put you in prison for up to a year. I don't think you want to be insisting your point so strongly." The man said. He was roughly 24 years old, and the new commander of the new Pulsian PSICOM army. He was tall, well muscled with dark brown hair and piercing blue eyes, and a constant problem in Lightning's world.

"It's LIGHTNING." She snapped. He always called her by her real name, which got on her nerves faster than him existing. "And what does the law have to do with anything but safety? You know I'm capable of defending myself. The fact is, there are things up there that could soon be down here!"

"I'll file a report. A squad will pick it up in a few weeks-..."

"What if we don't have a few weeks? I've been observing the area for months now. Feral activity has doubled in the last week."

"You need to let this go. Let the professionals handle it. You're a civilian now, Claire-.."

"It's _Lightning_!" She interrupted. "And I'm no more a civilian than you are. I may not be enrolled in any of the current Corps units but I can't forsake my duty as an ex-Guardian and act like nothing's happening!"

"Claire-.."

"Vincent. You have to believe me. We can't just sit here and do nothing. At the very least, send one squad up to survey the area. If they find nothing, then I'll shut my mouth and not mention it again."

He sighed. "Very well. I'll send one unit first thing in the morning."

"I'll be waiting." She said, and turned to leave.

"No."

"What?" She faced him. "I'm the one who found this threat."

"Having to send men up to check out this... 'threat' is enough. You have no business going with them."

"I have every business going with them. I'm a better fighter than ten of your soldiers put together."

"Cla-..."

"LIGHTNING!" She yelled.

"_Lightning_, your status as an ex soldier does not grant you access to the area. There's nothing you can do about that. This is a PSICOM project now. You have no business being there."

Seething, she resisted the urge to tell him off in every possible way. Instead, she opted for a wiser choice of words. "Fine." She turned to leave.

"And, _Lighting_..." He said, emphasizing the way he spoke her adopted name, "..stay out of trouble."

"As you wish." She said curtly, leaving his office and closing the door gently behind her against the urge to rip it off its hinges and ram it down his throat.

It was time for some anger release...

* * *

Hope sat solemnly on the edge of the crystals, staring out at the beautiful night view of Pulse. It had been two weeks since the day Light had found his spot, and she hadn't mentioned it once.

The monsters in Cocoon were awake more now. He could hear them from his home in Oerba.

He hadn't visited this place since that day. Not that he had lost interest or forgotten, but there had been so much to do. His father needed help with chores, Maqui wanted to go hunting, Lightning asked for a favor... something had come up every time he thought it would be a good time to go.

Now, he was finally back. There was a huge chunk missing from the hole, and it was big enough he could probably squeeze through if he wanted to.

Instead he sat there, scared silly by the thought of what might lie beyond.

He hardly dared to even face the hole. Here he had been, every day, working so hard to get to where he could climb through...and now, that time had come, and he didn't even know what to do with himself.

He turned and dared one look at the dark void that awaited him. It called silently to his soul, grasping with tender fingers at his mind and coaxing him into curiosity's dangerous haven. He allowed his thoughts to linger there just long enough to make him want to move.

He stood up and took a step toward it. Butterflies erupted from a secret cave in the corner of his chest and burst throughout his stomach, as if his movement had awakened them from a long slumber. He froze, gulping nervously. At very least, he thought, he would smooth the jagged edges and perhaps make sure he could fit through safely.

He found his crystal tool and carefully chipped away like he had for so long at the rim.

He felt the temperature around him rise despite the chilly bite to the air. Before long, little beads of sweat had dampened his forehead. The nervousness of just being near the posibility of seeing her again was enough to drive his emotions wild.

Finally impatience won over and he threw down his tool. He stared the hole right in the face. "I'm going to do it." His voice almost surprised himself. But it drove determination through his veins. He stepped right up to the hole and rested his fingertips on the edge. Then he ducked down and slipped just one leg over to the other side. He sat there for a moment, heart racing, dangling halfway between the known and the unknown.

He gulped.

Suddenly he realized that his leg no longer had weight. He wasn't using any muscle to support the left side of his body, but he didn't need to. He felt weightless. He took one last look at the now darkened Pulse sky, and then rolled the rest of his body through the entrance.

* * *

Lightning sighed with a satisfied air as she defeated yet another monster on the cliffside path of Taejen's Tower. It would take years for the people to rebuild the fallen masterpiece, if they even decided to rebuild it at all. But for now, it served as a perfect place for her to take out her aggression. Vincent was perhaps the only man who could irritate her so quickly, perhaps because he was the only man who outright defied her and had no fear of her, yet somehow let her know that he was the authority without coming across as rude or disrespectful. Quite the opposite, he respected her highly.

It was fascinating...

She didn't know _why _this man had so much power over her... but it was intoxicating.

She cut down another monster, and turned to look at the magnificent structure of Cocoon. A thought occurred to her... she hadn't seen Hope at all that day. The thought that he had gone back up to Cocoon entered her mind. She didn't hesitate to run immediately back inside the Tower and to the elevator. As it climbed the levels, her heart beat faster and faster. He was there, alone, in the dark. Even if he wasn't, it wouldn't hurt to check and see if he was home.

She darted from the first elevator to the second one.

It was gone.

With a grunt of frustration, she grabbed a stray piece of metal from the crumbling fortress and jumped into the tunnel, placing the flat hunk beneath her feet and landing on it.

The sound of metal grinding against metal screeched through the hollow tube as she skidded down like a snowboarder on a slope. Steering was out of the question at this speed. She could only hope there was nothing further down in her path.

As she neared the bottom, a thought struck her. _How do I stop?_

Taking a deep breath, she readied her gravity device and jumped. The metal chuck slid to the ground and smashed. Lightning flicked on her device as she fell. A purple field appeared just as she hit the ground, softening her fall.

She stood up and ran furiously around the hills and into Oerba. She hoped the train was running...

It was.

The five minute ride between the South shore of Oerba and the North shore, where the main city was, seemed more like five years to Lightning. When she reached the end, she didn't even bother to stop and call for a cab. She just ran.

It may have been slower, but it gave her time to think and lowered her panic through effort.

She reached Hope's house after almost four miles and just over twenty minutes of running, and pounded on the door.

Bartholomew answered after an eternal four seconds. "Lightning? Something wrong?" He asked.

"Is Hope here?" She inquired, still slightly winded.

"He... said he was going with you..."

She scoffed. "I knew it. I'm sorry, don't be worried. I know where he is." Leaving Hope's father startled and confused on the doorstep, she jogged to the street and hailed a cab.

This time, she wasn't frightened.

Now, she was pissed.

* * *

As Hope slowly ducked through the hole and let go, he was aware of three things. The first being that he had just let go, and he had no clue how big the actual room was.

The second being that it was a great deal warmer on this side of the crystal wall.

And lastly, that he was not falling.

In fact, he was floating. He threw his arms out to the side with a panicked squirm, thinking he might just be falling fast enough to not notice. But there, to his right, was the hole he had come in from. He lurched toward the hole, but only managed to flip over in midair. He tried three more times in vain to reach the exit.

_How do I get out of here__?_


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

Lightning gently stroked the soft feathers on the Chocobo's neck. The stables were located conveniently on the outskirts of Oerba. The only two problems were getting in and getting out without the guards noticing. Chocobos had been captured and trained for military use only. Civilians were not allowed into the wild without an escort.

Ironically, the guard was thin and if someone left the city, no one asked twice. No one even tried to stop you. It was a silly law, in Lightning's view. Her and several others made routine visits clear to the Archylte Steppe without notice.

She looked around to make sure there were still no guards and slowly snuck out of the stables. With any luck, she would have the chocobo returned before anyone noticed it was even gone.

"Hey, you!"

Or not...

She kicked the yellow bird into a full run, leaving the guard behind quickly as she headed for the wilderness of Pulse.

She reached the long crystal stalk of Cocoon and halted the Chocobo. This time she was not going to go so easy on Hope for ignoring her commands and going to Cocoon.

She snapped on her anti-gravity device and jumped, soaring into the sky and past the difficulty of climbing the crystal stalk. She passed a small alcove just below the broken entrance to Cocoon and snapped off her anti-gravity. The crevice where Hope usually stood was empty... but now a giant hole was placed in the crystal wall. The sound of laughter reached her ears... a child's laughter.

Hope's laughter.

She stepped cautiously toward the hole, looking for signs of life. It looked empty. She peeked in. "Hope?"

* * *

(Hope's POV)

_I felt so light inside the crystal. It was like nothing I've ever felt. The closest thing I can imagine to describe it is being underwater, but there's no pull to the surface from the oxygen in your lungs, or having to hold your breath. Here I could breathe, and I could float wherever I want._

_I kept getting closer and closer to the center. It was like it was calling me...and then I heard your voice._

"Hello, Hope."

* * *

The laughter stopped.

"Hope, is that you?" Lightning called.

"Li-...Lightning?" Hope said cautiously.

"Where are you?" She demanded.

"I'm inside...it's...it's really great in here."

"You get out here right now! Do you have any idea how worried your father is?"

"My father? He...he doesn't even..."

"When I couldn't find you I went to him."

"Light!"

"Hope, you can't keep wandering off like this! It's dangerous! Did you even see the C'eith inside Cocoon?"

"I fought it!" Hope said defiantly, holding onto the crystal branch he had snagged a moment ago. He pushed off toward the exit.

"That's another thing I need to talk to you about. Our days as l'Cie are over. You shouldn't have those powers still!"

"Well, I do." Hope said, floating up to the edge and grabbing onto the crystal wall.

Lightning stared at him for a moment. Her gaze softened. "I'm sorry..."

He did not say anything.

"They're coming."

"What?" He asked.

"The Calvary. The new PSICOM. They're assembling now. They're coming to destroy Cocoon."

His eyes widened. "D-..destroy?" A lump rose in his throat. "But, Vanille! And Fang! They're alive, Lightning!" He cried desperately.

"Hope, they are gone."

"I heard her!" He insisted.

"Hope, we have to go."

"I'm not moving!"

"Listen to me! An attack squad is coming, and if you're still here when they arrive, they will _kill _you! You're no help to Vanille dead."

Hope stood stubbornly for a few seconds, contemplating her words. He looked down in defeat, and then climbed out of the hole and back to solid ground. "Alright..." He said quietly. He turned and gazed into the crystal one last time before taking an anti-gravity device from Lightning and stepping lightly off the edge after her.

_A/N: It's short, I know... Sorry. But hey, happy New Year! :D ...or something!_


End file.
